Cameron Puts Bank, Labor-Law Overhauls at Top of Program

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron put
overhauls of the banking system, employment law, the electricity
market and pensions at the heart of his legislative program for
the coming year.

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s head of state, read out to
Parliament in London today a speech listing 31 proposals that
the Conservative-led coalition government will seek to make law.
Cameron may face the greatest opposition from lawmakers over
proposals to overhaul the House of Lords, the upper chamber of
Parliament, and to give more powers to the security services to
monitor electronic communications.

“My government’s legislative program will focus on
economic growth, justice and constitutional reform,” the 86-year-old monarch told members of both chambers of the
legislature. “My ministers’ first priority will be to reduce
the deficit and restore economic stability.”

Cameron is looking to shift attention away from his worst
electoral setback since taking office two years ago. His
Conservative Party and their Liberal Democrat partners lost
hundreds of seats to the Labour opposition in municipal polls on
May 4, triggering renewed tensions in the coalition.

‘Global Storm’

“We have already made some tough choices and we will
continue to make sure we keep spending down so, unlike others in
Europe, families can benefit from low interest rates and Britain
is protected from the global storm,” Cameron and his Liberal
Democrat deputy, Nick Clegg, said in a statement.

The Treasury plans to implement in full recommendations of
the Independent Commission on Banking by 2015, a spokesman for
the department headed by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said before the monarch outlined the government program.

The solution proposed last year by the panel led by former
Bank of England Chief Economist John Vickers is for banks to
build firewalls between their consumer and investment operations
and boost the amount of loss-absorbing equity and debt they hold
to between 17 percent and 20 percent. Osborne intends the
legislation to take effect no later than 2019.

The queen outlined proposals to let employment tribunals
have judges rule on dismissals without lay magistrates, in order
to speed up cases. The same bill will have the scope to
introduce rules to limit the pay of senior executives, though no
specific measures were included today.

Other aspects to the bill include the creation of the Green
Investment Bank to channel money to clean energy projects and
cutting government inspections of businesses.

Energy Bill

The Energy Bill aims to overhaul Britain’s electricity
market to spur the 110 billion-pound ($175 billion) investment
the government says is needed to create new, low-carbon energy.
Proposals include the creation of a price support for such
energy, measures to prevent the construction of the most
polluting coal-fired plants and the creation of a nuclear-energy
regulator.

The Pensions Bill will introduce a single-tier pension to
complement the basic, means-tested pension and increase the
retirement age to 67 from 65 by 2028. A separate bill for
public-sector pensions will make those workers save more for
retirement and align the pension age with the private sector.

Reform of the House of Lords, currently unelected, was
among the main proposals. The push for an elected upper chamber,
a key objective for the Liberal Democrats, is opposed by many
Conservatives who say it should not be a priority at a time of
economic crisis.

The premier and his deputy said the introduction of
directly elected peers would make Parliament more representative
and get peers to “answer to the people.”

‘Smidgen of Democracy’

Clegg said yesterday he saw no reason why the government
should not pursue the measure alongside other objectives such as
helping the low paid.

“A smidgen of democracy I don’t think will go amiss, since
we’ve been talking about it for about 100 years,” Clegg said.

The Draft Communications Data Bill may also antagonize
civil-liberties groups and Liberal lawmakers in the coalition
who may oppose Cameron’s plans to give security forces powers to
collect and store data from social media and other new forms of
communications.

The pageantry of the Queen’s Speech began at 10 a.m., when
the Yeomen of the Guard, the Royal bodyguards known as
“Beefeaters,” searched the cellars of Parliament. The
tradition dates back to 1605, when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow
up the building and King James I with it.

Royal Standard

The queen then traveled by horse-drawn coach from
Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament, escorted by the
Household Cavalry. As she arrived, the Union Flag of the U.K.
was lowered and her Royal Standard raised over Parliament.

The official who has the title Yeoman Usher of the Black
Rod marched to the House of Commons, the lower, elected,
chamber. His job was to summon lawmakers to hear the queen, who
was waiting in the House of Lords. The door of the Commons was
slammed in his face.

This ritual symbolizes the independence of the Commons from
the Crown: no British monarch has entered the lower house since
1642, when King Charles I tried to arrest five members in the
run-up to a civil war that ended with his execution in 1649.

After “Black Rod” knocked on the door of the Commons,
lawmakers processed to the House of Lords. Seated on a gilded
throne next to her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen
Elizabeth read the speech from a goatskin parchment.